(Bangkok, 4th) – A Thai man who shot and killed a former Cambodian MP with dual Cambodian and French citizenship in Bangkok earlier this year was sentenced to life imprisonment by a court on Friday (October 3).
The victim, Lim Kimya, was a former MP of the now-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party. On January 7th this year, just hours after he and his wife arrived in Bangkok, he was shot and killed by 41-year-old Thai man Ekkalak Paenoi. The shooter was arrested in Cambodia the day after the incident.
Ekkalak was charged with premeditated murder, originally facing the death penalty, but as he confessed in court, the judge reduced the sentence to life imprisonment. The court did not disclose the motive or any mastermind behind the act.
It is reported that Ekkalak was a former Thai Marine Corps member, and after his arrest claimed he had been living in hardship since retiring, and was hired to kill in return for repaying a past favor.
Borgman, the lawyer representing Lim Kimya’s widow Anne-Marie, said in an interview outside the court: “Anne-Marie is gratified by the verdict, but she is still questioning who ordered the shooter to commit the crime. She hopes the authorities will fully investigate the truth.”
Borgman pointed out that they have information that other suspects remain in Cambodia, and hope the Thai government will assist in promoting extradition procedures, so that those involved can be brought to justice.
Cambodian opposition parties have accused former Prime Minister Hun Sen of being the mastermind. Anne-Marie also stated in court on September 30 that she hopes to learn the reason and real culprit behind the case.